1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me

To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,

To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives

And freedom to prisoners, [Rom 10:15]

2 To proclaim *the favorable year of the Lord,

*And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,

To comfort all who mourn, [Matt 11:2-6; Luke 4:18, 19; 7:22]

3 To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:

To give them a *turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],

The oil of joy instead of mourning,

The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.

So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,

They will raise up and restore the former desolations;

And they will renew the ruined cities,

The desolations (deserted settlements) of many generations.

5 Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,

And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

6 But you shall be called the priests of the Lord;

People will speak of you as the ministers of our God.

You will eat the wealth of nations,

And you will boast of their riches. [Ex 19:6; 1 Pet 2:5; Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6]

7 Instead of your [former] shame you will have a *double portion;

And instead of humiliation your people will shout for joy over their portion.

Therefore in their land they will possess double [what they had forfeited];

Everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 For I, the Lord, love justice;

I hate robbery with *a burnt offering.

And I will faithfully reward them,

And make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,

And their descendants among the peoples.

All who see them [in their prosperity] will recognize and acknowledge them

That they are the people whom the Lord has blessed.

10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,

My soul will exult in my God;

For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,

He has covered me with a robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom puts on a *turban,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

So the Lord God will [most certainly] cause righteousness and justice and praise

To spring up before all the nations [through the power of His word].